Gun safes?

[Beav]

Does anyone know of a good deal on a gun safe or a cheap way to secure firearms? I plan on buying a few firearms over the next few months and my jaw hit the floor when I started pricing safes. Thanks

[treeprof]

I have a Liberty safe that was pretty reasonable ($800). If you go the cabinet route, I'd suggest Homack over the others (like Stack On)- the doors are double locked and the locking bars lock in both the x and y axes (horiz and vert). Mine survived a pretty determined break-in attempt when we were burgled a few years ago. Trust me, better to have one's jar on the floor pricing/buying a safe than when comnig home to see your stuff gone, at which point, like me, you'll go out and get one anyway.

[TallPine]

Cheap way to secure guns:

Two eye "bolts" screwed into some solid wood (like a 2 x 4 stud), some distance apart.

Run a plastic coated cable through BOTH eyebolts and then through guns (trigger guard, lever, etc) and padlock together.

Cable through both eyes prevents eyebolts from being unscrewed.

Not perfect, as cable can be cut, but better than nothing.

[Rob01]

Check out WalMart. They have Sentry safes there which have combo locks and a 14 gun capacity for about $399 last time I looked. They also have 10 gun safes for about $289. They aren't the cheap cabinets but actual safes with locking bolts when you turn the handle, anti pry doors and they're made out of decent thickness steel. Here's a link to them www.sentrysafe.com/guns.cfm? The R3910 is the model I was talking about. For the price you can't go wrong mounting one of those to the wall and floor. You can also find places that sell these on the web. Just do a search.

[bastiat]

Sentry safes are a very good value. Much thicker than the other 'cheap' safes with stronger locking mechanisms.

Another place to look for them is at a home depot or Menards. Menards just had the 14 gun on sale for under $300, IIRC.

[106RR]

Tallpine;
I tried that cable method. I used a teflon coated heavy cable and a super duty pad lock. The key was lost.
I tried to cut the cable with tin snips -- no luck. I rented a lrge boltcutter and tried again. The jaws kept slipping because of the teflon. I cut the teflon away with a pocket knife . I then rented the largest bolt cutter I could find -- maybe three feet long. I finally got through the cable. I spent hours.
Mike H

[dick w. holliday]

Try this---Take one of the 60" Knaak tool boxes that you see at contrusction sites....carpet the inside and stand it on its end....cost about 275.00....the JobBoxes pr Greenlees that Home depot and lowes sells also look good......Dick

[Schmit]

my jaw hit the floor when I started pricing safes.

Why? Add up the cost of the money you (plan) to spend on guns. Add into that total the cost of any other valuables you will put in it (jewlery, cameras, etc). Figure out the time (and money) it will take to replace any important papers (birth cert, insurance policies, SSN Cards, etc). Add in any other costs of items that you'll keep in the safe.

What is your total? My guess.... a lot more then the cost of even a large safe (i.e. $2K +).

A safe can be a once in a life time peace of mind purchase (if you get one larrge enough that will accomidate furture purchases).

While you may have to put off the purchase of a gun or two or three for a while to get a safe it is better then having the ones you already have (and the other stuff) stolden and have to start over.

Oh, and I learned the hard way. Figure out the size safe you need, then buy the next larger size... or for that matter, buy the largest safe you can reasonably get into you house. I initially bought a small safe... 8 gun or so I think. It was full after I got it and put the guns in and my wife added the other stuff. When I moved I sold it and got the largest one AmSec makes. Haven't filled it up.... yet.

[Redneck2]

with the cost. Like the guy at the store said.."If your guns were stolen, I bet you'd pay more than $800 to get them back"

If you're like most shooters, you'll have at least 1 gun that's worth more than $800.

You probably pay more than that for car insurance every year

You don't have to worry about relatives or kids getting into your guns. If you get a fireproof one, you get "double coverage"

Be sure to get a heating rod to drive out the moisture. Helps keep rust away.

Easy savings plan. Pay for everything you get daily with bills and save all your change. Throw it in a jar when you get home. In 6-9 months you'll have enough for your safe and won't even miss the money.

ADT and a safe give a lot of piece-of-mind.

[Fatelvis]

One idea.....Buy a cheaper cabinet, and put in a hidden spot. (Just make sure there isnt any wide temp. changes in that area.) A thief can`t steal what he cant find!

[biere]

Be careful about that walmart safe from sentry. I have a sentry and like it a lot. I got mine at a gun store, they sold them for 399 plus tax, I had them help load it and I was off. Mine has 5 locking bolts.

The ones I saw at walmart only had 3 locking lugs, but were still 400 or so plus tax. I would see if you can find one with more lugs for the same price, maybe prices went up since I got mine last year.

I had some of the cheaper lockers when I was a mechanic, they do what they should but I place the sentry way above them.

I do plan to build a spot in my house for a real heavy solid safe, I want to make it so it is near impossable to remove and it is protected except for the door that has to open.

Till then the sentry makes me plenty happy, and while not as good as some of the bigger safes it also did not cost as much and is something I can move myself when empty.

[BenW]

I second Sentry safes for a relatively cheap alternative. I didn't want to move my big safe to where I'm living now for work (in a second floor condo). I chose instead to get the Sentry 3911 (Calif compliant version of the 3910). Picked it up at the local gunshow for $340. When I retire and move back home, I've got a second safe for storing all the milsurps I'm starting to collect since I caught the bug.

[greg531mi]

I seen Sentry safes at other stores and they are $249 on sale, and they have the 5 locking lugs and 14 gun cap., Walmart will get the manufacture to make a cheaper model for them and charge you full price, I seen it with guns, etc. Carefull what you get there, Wallymart is not a bargain store.

[WalkerTexasRanger]

You will never regret the purchase of a safe (unless you buy one too small). Just buy about 50% bigger than you think, you will have room to fill up with new purchases.

[Monkeyleg]

OK. I thought I had a deal with a range buddy to buy his Liberty Lincoln model for $900, until I found out it was unlined and not fireproof. Every dealer (or wheeler-dealer) I've talked to over the last several days said it's not worth more than $500. Those opinions also come from TFL members whose opinions I well respect. And my range buddy won't go under $700 (his call).

I just can't shell out $1000 or more right now for a safe. Is the Sentry series really just an entry-level safe? Both the Sentry and the Liberty use 1/8" or 3/16" steel. Both have four or five deadbolts. Both have internal hinges. The Sentry has some sort of fabric lining (no big deal). And it looks like I could fireproof the inside of either later on.

I don't see any mention on Sentry's site of the safe having a Sargent & somthing lock (Sergeant and Beetle?). I know that's a good quality lock. How does Sentry's compare?

$450 for a Sentry versus $700 for a 12 year-old Liberty?

I figure I have a window of a couple of weeks (birthday coming soon). After that, then there's no using birthday points to score something new without the usual marital reciprocity.

[rick458]

3 months after my wife and I bought our house
we were burgled they took 3 pistols and all my wife's jewelry much of it bought in Australia for her by my Mom (plus dug through the jewelry case got the keys for the trigger locks and left them on the bed)
coming home was the worst feeling I have ever had
I felt violated and maddened that the guns I bought to protect my family were now on the street

Get a safe ,or a Gun Vault, or even a little Senrty if you cant afford a real safe right now (I got a 1.5 cu/ft Sentry model until I bought my BROWNING PROSTEEL)

Dont go through what I did

[Coronach]

If you do go the Sentry route (I did, due to the fact that I plan to move in the reasonably near future), make sure you bolt it down well. Remember...what two guys and a dolly can wheel in, two guys and a dolly can wheel out.

Mike

[citizen]

OK; once again, a shameless plug for what I consider the best deal on a new safe.

www.libertylock.com

Check 'net special; it's a Cannon "house brand" for retailers.
60x30x24 I believe; fire lined. About $700 plus drop-ship.
If you call, speak with Brian; a fine yong man, or Maureen; if available (manager). Next batch due in a week or so; usually must pre-order, but some go unspoken for.
(BTW, theywon't know me by my screen name.)

[Monkeyleg]

Well, I looked at the Sentry's, and while they are good, they aren't quite as good as the Liberty. The biggest one I saw weighed maybe 240 pounds, which would be easy for two burglars to carry out.

So, I called my range buddy and leaned on him. He's going to sell it to me for $575. A bit more than some here have said I should pay but I can finally say I have a safe!

[Schmit]

Monkeyleg,

That is great. Now, if you want you can line it yourself if you want. All you need is drywall. Remove the interior and line the safe with it. Put back the interior (this will require trimming down the shelving). The fabric of the interior can be put back in using spray adheasive.

[M1911]

I have a mid-size Liberty safe -- about 750 lbs empty. IIRC, it cost about $1500 delivered. I figure it this way, that's the cost of about 2 guns. And I've got a whole lot more than 2 guns stuffed in there.

Figure out how many guns you will ever own. Then get a safe that will hold twice as many as that. That way, it will be at least 5 years before you fill it up and you need to by your second safe

Yes, safes are expensive. You buy them by the pound, kind of like hamburger. And the cost is remarkably similar...

M1911

[Kentucky Rifle]

I never gave that a second's thought, until my father in law said something about it the other night. (His is in the basement and bolted down to a concrete floor.) Our house seems pretty solid and I was going to put the safe in a first floor bedroom. But it IS a lot of weight in a small area. Plus, it's an area that's over my basement. Opinions please??

KR

[Monkeyleg]

Kentucky, one of the guys at a safe store said the "footprint" of a safe is less than that of a double bed holding two people, because the safe spreads the load out over a 30"x24" or whatever area. Sounded reasonable.

But then the manager of a gun shop near me said they stopped selling any of the heavy safes because they were such a hassle. He said the larger Browning safes couldn't be delivered to the buyers in some communities because it involved having a building inspector come out and check to see if the floor would support it. Baloney? I dont know.

Schmit, I've already started looking into fireproof gypsum board to line the safe with. The only thing I have to figure out is how to attach the shelves to the boards. Currently the safe has vertical rows of notches that the shelf hooks are inserted into. Any advice from handymen on this board would be welcome.

I can't remember the last time I was so excited about buying a used whatever.

[M1911]

Mine's in my basement, so I'm not terribly worried about the weight. I used to be a civil engineer, but never did residential, so I can't tell you whether or not the structural framing of an average home would hold a heavy safe. Now I push a mouse around for a living...

[Kentucky Rifle]

If heavy gun-safes were crashing through bedroom floors, somebody would have written SOMETHING about it. I'm not going to think about it any more.

Little side story: ~My doctor is one of those "bargain hunter" types. He goes to auctions, yard sales, flea markets, etc... He went to an auction in downtown Louisville where he found an old, very heavy safe from a defunct savings and loan company. He figured it would be "just the thing" for his guns, with room left over for other valuables. It took him and four other guys to get the thing down to his basement. Fortunately, his basement had an outside door so they brought the safe through that and only had to deal with three or four steps. Anyway, the rope they were using broke and the safe slid a few feet and pinned one of the "helpers" (another doctor) against the wall. It also broke one of his ribs in the process. MY doctor had to treat the injured "pancake" doctor for free. The moral I took from this little story is to pay the delivery fee. When he told me the story, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. The whole thing sounds like a "Three Stooges Movie". (Or, in this particular case, four.)

KR